Southend-on-Sea Favorites

Favorite thing: Southchurch Hall museum is housed in the half-timbered medieval manor house, which dates to the early 14th century. The house was restored in the late 1920s, having been purchased by Thomas Dowsett and presented to the town for use as a museum or library. For many years the Hall was used as a branch library but, was converted to museum use.

It is now laid out in a series of period rooms, the great open hall reflecting life in the later middle ages. The solar wing displays life in Tudor and Stuart times, while the service wing is devoted to domestic life through several centuries. On the first floor is a Victorian bedroom.

An ideal setting for discovering what life was like in medieval, Tudor and Stuart and Victorian times, educational groups make constant use of the Hall throughout the year. Visitors are encouraged to touch and handle many of the items in the great hall, which are used in the exciting and varied educational work of Southchurch Hall.

On entering the Hall, set at the centre of a small park, it is difficult to remember that you are in the middle of large modern town. This is especially the case when you are greeted at the entrance by Sir Robert, our very own Tudor lord of the manor.

Fondest memory: This museum and the park which surrounds it has many bird wildlife. I used to be such a frequent visitor that the ducks and geese used to follow me around endlessly even when I had run out of bread to feed them. I used to sit and paint water colours here during my school holidays. I love this park.